Keeping girls safe

In every one of these photos is a girl who has been saved from having their genitals cut or mutilated (FGM/C). These are girls like Fatma, whose mother chose to abandon the practise after taking part in a discussion group supported by UNICEF.

Across Africa, 3 million girls are genitally cut or mutilated every year. Many suffer excessive bleeding, infection, extreme pain or even death.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been working with partners to end this practice one community at a time. Working in schools, with community leaders and with traditional birth attendants, we're helping change attitudes to end FGM/C. We also help change laws to ban the practice and train traditional birth attendants how to help girls who are affected.

So far in Senegal, more than 3500 villages have abandoned the practise since 1997.

A survey in Ethiopia showed that 50% less people supported the practice than in 2000.

For children like Fatma who no longer have to suffer this dangerous practise, your support means everything.